SARA - a bustling face-to-face group where we get together to talk writing, goals, and have a chin wag. A meeting I look forward to every month, but if I miss out I know the group is there, ready and waiting. A group of support.

This month, I give back to the writing community and write about the experiences I had at the 'Hot August Nights' conference run by the Romance Writers of Australia. One of the best memories I have is the way we banded together in donating a gift for the Pink Lunch (benefiting Breast Cancer Awareness). Everyone brought along to add to the basket and in the end it looked fantastic. There was just so much thought and love that went into it. And I was proud to be part of this wonderful group of women. It all starts with an idea & this case, the idea came from Dianne. Thanks Dianne, and since I was the person who collated the gift pack, thanks to all SARA members for their thoughtfulness.


There's something warm and sparkling about our members - oh yes, we are loud, but we are proud to be writers. And romance writers at that (whether the romance is a sub-plot doesn't matter). It is a great group to belong to. And the buzz and the energy at meetings and at the conference is/was infectious. As do we enjoy our coffee after our meetings and sometimes dinner before. 

I had to have a break from SARA for about 18 months some time back. I missed the face to face meetings but I was at a low point with my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and decided to take time out. But I kept in touch with the members via our Yahoo Group, so I didn't feel alone. There were only a couple of members who knew about my situation. I am a private person but CFS is part of my life, some days more than others. Now everyone knows obviously.

I started going back and was welcomed warmly by the members. And I was in time to help out with the Adelaide Roadshow in 2008. What a buzz and what a wonderful day. Loved it and loved the fact that RWAus thought of taking a show on the road. Of course without our lovely Trish Morey, who started off the Roadshows, where would we be? More members joined SARA as a result.

So how proud were we of Trish for all she has done for RWAus and SARA? Very and we were ecstatic when Trish was awarded the Honorary Lifetime Membership - it is so fitting - she is a lady who has given so much to others, and to me personally. Trish was one of my supporters when applying for the grant and I can't tell you how much that meant to me. 

When I thought of applying for the grant, I thought 'romance' being a popular genre may not have been perceived as literary enough for the board. But how wrong I was. Arts SA and the Richard Llewellyn Arts and Disability Trust (RLADT) is there for all artists. I was so pleased to be going to the conference obviously, but also because it was a ROMANCE conference. So it can be done, and other SARA members or SA genre writers can see Arts SA funding as an option and know that attending a conference is valid. Of course, be prepared to work on the application. But none of our members are afraid of hard work - after all we are WRITERS. Hear us roar!!

One note before I continue, the RLADT application was a wonderful experience because I believe my enthusiasm for writing shone through. This is partly to the fact that they wanted to know about me as a writer, not about my condition. It was a refreshing attitude and one I am grateful for. As I said in my application that going to the conference will "propel me further along my journey as a writer who just happens to have CFS, rather than the CFS sufferer, who happens to write." And it has - big time. 

If you were at the conference, you could the SARA girls cheering for each other, and part of that is being part of being from SA. 

We love SA. I sent out an email to the group  asking what about SA that people loved. Here's a list I compiled. There's Heaps more Good stuff ;))

• Obviously for me Arts SA! *grin*
• Balfours Frog cakes
• Pie Floaters
• Our lovely wine regions - Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley (including Jacobs Creek), Clare Valley, the Coonawarra.
• The Adelaide Festival of the Arts
• Adelaide Writers' Week
• The Fringe Festival
• Kangaroo Island
• Flinders Rangers including the Wilpena pound
• Art Gallery and Museum
• Rundle Mall - including the shopping, the buskers, the food.
• Victor Harbor
• The Adelaide Hills including towns like Hahndorf
• Haigh's Chocolates
• The West End Brewery Christmas Lights
• Bung Fritz
• Humphrey B Bear (childhood icon) and Winky Dink (childhood icon)
• The Curiosity Show
• Our lovely beaches - including Silver Sands
• Our fine cafes and restaurants 
• Southern Right Whales
• The Christmas Pageant
• Glendi Festival
• Schutzenfest
• Coopers
• Cleland Wildlife park
• Leafy sea dragon- maritime emblem
• Port River Dolphins
• Blue Lake in Mount Gambier
• King George Whiting
• Naracoorte Caves
• Pt Lincoln and tuna farming
• Lake Eyre 
• Womad
• Clipsal 500
• Lobethal Christmas lights
• Festival Centre
• Farmer's Union Iced Coffee
• Adelaide Central Markets
• Menz Fruchocs
• YoYo biscuits
• City to Bay fun run
• The Riverland
• Bickford Cordial
• Guy Sebastian
• Cold Chisel
• Kamahl
• Hills Hoist - invented in Adelaide
• Heaps Good. - exploring what is 'heaps good' with SA
• Mount Lofty
• Giant Lobster
• Giant Rocking Horse
• Coober Pedy 
• Stobie poles
• Tour Down Under
• Popeye boats
• Adelaide Zoo and Monato Zoological Park
• Tram from City to Glenelg
• McLeod's Daughter's (filmed in SA)
• Plastic bags banned - not all - just those that are not recycleable nor biodegradable. 
• Recycling - 10c for plastic drink bottles, cans, milk cartons at collection depots. 
  “In recent years South Australia has enjoyed a recycling rate of cans and bottles of between 75-85 per cent while the rate in other states has been less than half this.” - on Clean Up Australia site

Hey that's quite a list isn't it. And there's much more do see and discover in SA. In fact, I need to check out some of the things. It's that old saying that you don't see where you live how tourists do - and that is a shame. Maybe if we did, we could appreciate it even more. Because things are always there, there is that assumption that you have plenty of time. When I visited Greece back in 1992, my godfather told me the statistic for Athenians who had never been on the Acropolis was about half. I'm not sure how accurate that percentage is but it just brings home my point. 


Check out the photos to the right of some of SA's icons...I tried to get them in order but Weebly didn't want to co-operate. Maybe it was telling me 'OK, you really want to order these...nope....you leave them as is, please'. So I am no longer arguing.


I will be talking about some of my SA favourite things over at my blog today more in-depth. And there will be a giveaway available as well.

Ok now back to SARA. When I asked whether we should have a web presence, everyone loved the idea and we had some discussions back on forth of the way the website should be structured. I have to laugh because some of the 'examples' were quite funny and very bright. Purple anyone?  I think we ended up with a website design and logo everyone is proud of and it has made us more aware of our presence out in the world. 

That is why I wanted SARA to be part of the Eleni-fest celebrations. It's a group that has given me support and I have given support to. Thank you SARA. And thank you to members Anne Oliver, Claire Baxter, Elizabeth Rolls, and Trish Morey for being special guests over on my blog.



So I have a Writer's Pack to give away including some chocolates from Haigh's Chocolates (an SA business that has gone interstate). Almost everyone I know loves Haigh's. 

Anyone can enter this competition including SARA members. The only person who can't enter is me!

So what to do?
Comment in the comments section (click the 'comments' link near the title of this post) about:
What you love best about South Australia? 
Never been here before - no problem - what do you think you would like about South Australia?

The competition will run from 25th October to the 31st October.

I will pick the winner based on these comments. If I can't decide there is always the trusty random generators! *grin*


The competition is now closed. Congratulations Emily!

Thanks for being part of Eleni-fest!


~Eleni